Long term travel often commands frugality and acceptance of modest accommodation. Every saved dollar extends the length of your trip so a true nomad is a rare visitor at luxury hotels and high-end restaurants. In our never-ending quest for a comfy but inexpensive apartment we found ourselves in the middle of an anecdotal situation.
After contacting an agent from a classified ad in Phuket News in Thailand we were thrilled to find out that there are 3 available apartments within our price range and needed dates. After exchanging a few emails and looking at photos of a gorgeous ocean view villa with a private pool we could hardly wait to pack our stuff and move right in. It was hard to believe that we are getting such a deal! We kept searching for more information on the place only to realize a few moments later that the price tag of 20,000 for one month was not in Thai Baht, but is U.S. Dollars!
After the unsuccessful move into a posh villa I started wondering in what case I would justify coughing up such hefty change:
Case # 1: I am a celebrity chased by a flock of paparazzi and I need my privacy
Case # 2: I am a drug dealer needing a break from drug dealing
Case # 3: I could not come up with case # 3.
In our travels we have visited places such as Lao and Cambodia, and seeing the conditions that so many people live in does put things in perspective. I did a little math and here are 3 examples of what $20,000 can buy if you are not into opulent living:
- It costs about $90 per year to sponsor an orphaned child in Cambodia, so $20,000 one may pay for 30 day stay at a luxury villa could provide food and shelter for 222 kids for one year or sponsor 22 orphaned children for an entire decade.
- An average monthly salary in Lao is $225, so for $20,000 one could employ 7 people for a year, who can earn a living and feed their families.
- One of the few affordable options for Lao men to get education is to go to a monk school. A semester in monk school costs 280,000 Kip which is about $35, hence $140 a year. So $20,000 can educate a class of 14 your men for 10 years.
So if I ever somehow end up in a $20,000 / month villa in front of an infinity pool sipping a mojito, can you please get on the next flight and slap me back into reality?!
Written by: Masha @ AddictedPresets